Normative Role of the ECOWAS Court of Justice in Transnational Corporate Accountability

Abstract

There are growing cases and literature on the accountability of multinational corporations for their human rights abuses in developing countries and the overall implications of such violations for sustainable development. Courts in developed countries continue to declare corporate responsibility, using various approaches either under tort law or  international human rights principles. These cases point to a growing corporate accountability norm that is changing the narrative that MNCs are not responsible for the actions of   their subsidiaries in developing countries. This article examines how the Community Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States (ECCJ) can, through  creative and purposeful interpretation of international guidance instruments, influence the obligatory implications of corporate responsibility in international human rights law. In  doing this, it argues that the ECCJ must reconsider its stance on the status of State-owned Enterprises before the court.